Exactly.
The first thing they train you to do is monitor but don't engage.
Contact authorities.
There are people stealing shit they don't need.
There are also people stealing stuff they need.
Recently there was a post on the front page of reddit talking about how Walmart in some places was locking up socks behind glass and escorting people with the socks to the cashiers.
We have Superstore putting multiple metal gates into the stores.
We have a cost of living crisis.
Socks and food should not have to be secured like this in a "thriving" society.
Things are definitely not working however there are assholes both rich and poor that exploit the system and hurt it further for everyone.
As others keep saying. Don't engage the bad apples in both wealth demographics simply don't give a shit and many times don't have boundaries most of us would have and you may end up hurt.
It's like when I'm driving in the left lane and going at a decent pace and all of a sudden I see a car approaching behind me. It's pretty obvious they are going extremely fast if they are catching up so quickly. I still move out of the way and let them pass. It's not my job to enforce the speed limit. There are people out there who will remain stubborn because they are following the speed limit and try to enforce it on others. Doing someone else's job usually just leads to more problems. Let the experts deal with it.
It is members of society that foster the culture we live in. When everyone decides to sit around and be a bystander to whatever nonsense is happening around them because “it’s not my business” or “I’m not being paid”, these kind of behaviours get normalized.
Shame is a powerful tool to get people to fall in line. Please exercise nuance with this statement. I’m not suggesting tackling or getting into an elongated heated battle with thieves or other deranged fellows, but a simple sentence expressing disgust may do some good.
I’m sick of this hyperindividualism that’s taken over our culture where people just don’t think about the common good or the social contract we should have with one another in our common spaces. When you throw all caution to the wind, anything goes. And look where that’s getting us.
Guilt is a powerful tool, shame isn’t. Not according to most studies on the subject. So someone has to be in a situation where they would feel guilty, stealing from a local store, or seeing who they are hurting. But if you are stealing from loblaws, I’m not sure there is anything you could say that would trigger guilt. “Hey this is a family run store” “you know that comes out of some employees pocket money”.
I think of it like traffic. I can honk or yell if you almost hit a kid and you’ll feel guilt, but if you are speeding, should I chase after you explaining the slippery slope we are all on.
This is a post about a small restaurant, which I assume is family-run and not part of some big corporation.
Like anything else, there is nuance. Shaming may work in some scenarios and doesn’t work in others. I know it certainly worked last week when I saw a man throwing garbage on the street from his lawn and yelled at him so make of that what you will.
What I know for a fact is that normalizing antisocial behaviours is certainly not going to help anything on a societal level. If it’s between that or shaming, my bet would be that shaming will result in a marginally better outcome.
I also yell at littering, I hate it. I think it triggers guilt. I also pick it up infront of them though and ask them to throw it out with me.
I’ve got a couple of young kids and we about shame, there is something wrong with me, and guilt, I did something g wrong. I think stealing is so nuanced compared to littering. Dumpster diving is considered stealing in many situations, (not this one obviously) so I think it comes down to a good radar for when the intervention is because you think they are open to hearing you, or if it’s for you. Not that doing things for you is bad. I’ll tell a litterbug they suck just for me.
But I don’t just think it’s about whether that individual will change their ways or not. It’s also about optics. People see what’s happening in our society and they’re realizing petty crime and other antisocial behaviours are just acceptable now because no one even bats and eye. I think that gives people a sort of permission to engage in the same behaviours themselves. Copycat crimes have always been a thing but even in general culture evolves. I don’t think this is the direction we want to see culture evolve. I want people to feel worried that if they engage in certain behaviours in public, someone might yell at them and embarrass them in front of a larger crowd. Even if they don’t feel guilt, I want the people watching to know there’s a threat of public humiliation. And yeah theft is still going to happen but we’ll be sending a message as society that we don’t condone it.
I look at Asian cultures and the whole “what will people say” honour based mentality. Yes, it can sometimes be excessive and detrimental but there is also value to it when it comes to self-governance as people don’t want to bring shame upon their families. I wish we had some level of that.
I also think there’s something to be said about the bystander effect in more serious situations. It happens a lot. I’ve seen someone get robbed at a bus stop and no one batted an eye, except me. I’ve seen women getting sexually harassed on the subway and not one person stand up for them, except me. I think that’s also a natural evolution of the culture of “it’s not my problem”. A lot of people just don’t feel comfortable stepping in ever. It’s a mentality issue.
I agree in general, I just also think it goes both ways. We should be publicly shaming gauging at the checkout and stranger danger propaganda that isolates out communities. We can yell, but can we always tell the victims from the abusers.
For the most part I think it’s too easy to share my anger about something than it is to hit the streets with warm meals for the needy.
I grew up religious so I think in those terms sometimes. Jesus yelled at the sellers in the temple at 13, told them they sucked and they were ruining society, then He grew up and stoped yelling and just started helping people.
I try to do a bit of both. But I think you and I agree on the need for us all to see eachother and have the boldness to speak up more often.
I agree with you as well. Especially about the helping part. Too many people think they’re doing some kind of activism by just bitching online but they do absolutely nothing for their causes in real life. Like no, bitching to your 300 followers about cause XYZ repeatedly isn’t “educating them” and no, you’re not raising awareness about mental health by constantly posting sad memes. I bitch a fair amount too but I’m actively involved in my local community.
OP, no one is going to give you a medal for stopping a theft. And even worse, you could end up hurt or worse if the thief is violent or is carrying a weapon. It’s not worth it. Or your business.
The worker there also isn’t paid enough to deal with this.
Petty theft isn't worth getting involved with. If the employee witnessed it and did nothing, why should you?
Same goes for situations like the guy stopping a shoplifter at the LCBO. Don't bother, considering there's a good likelihood they'll fight back and could be armed. At the end of the day, is it worth it? Nope!
The terrible highway crash that happened last night was the result of an off duty cop chasing a guy stealing from the LCBO and police took chase and killed himself and 2 grandparents and a grandchild in the process. Some things aren't worth it.
You’re kind of misstating what happened with the 401 crash.
The person being chased by the cops wasn’t a shoplifter; they pulled a knife and robbed the store.
I saw this posted earlier :( here the link to cp24: https://www.cp24.com/mobile/news/baby-and-grandparents-killed-in-wrong-way-hwy-401-crash-caused-by-fleeing-driver-siu-1.6867191
Not worth getting in to confrontations with people who you don’t know over a can of pop. Things can turn violent very quickly. Let the restaurant worry about it.
Rightfully so.
folks are waking up to the fact that we live in an honour system society, and taking advantage by stealing knowing there are no repercussions
I don't. There are lots of options to consider as to why someone might be stealing. If the employees don't care, neither should customers.
On a different note, I was at Cloverdale Metro a while ago and witnessed an older man, 70 to 80 yrs old, sneaking chocolate covered almonds in the bulk section, eating some and putting some into his pants pocket. You never know why someone steals, but usually, it's poverty or addiction. I know chocolate covered almonds aren't poverty food, but if you're a senior on limited income, you might not be able to afford anything more than the very basics.
Normally I would not, because it's not my job and not worth the risk.
However in current times *it's not even worth the thought*. Lifestyle gouging is abhorrent, and the homeless population has exploded.
Honestly, no, you should not feel bad for not doing anything. You don’t know the headspace of that other person and your personal safety is not worth a drink from the fridge. It sucks for a small business or restaurant, but safety comes first and in larger places like bigger stores, they have loss prevention for this specific reason.
When I worked retail we were told if you see someone stealing do not confront them, this is why there are security camera’s in-store and out, and they “will” be dealt with by security. Not employee.
I once saw a guy scamming the self check out during 2020 covid. The scary time of the pandemic. He scanned the stuff. Packed his bags and walked out quickly. I noticed something unusual about what he was stealing. It was gatorade, ensure meal replacement, oatmeal, a loaf of bread, a can of beans, chicken soup.
I realize this guy is taking the cheapest most mundane things. It was also things people would eat when they are sick. I thought maybe this guy was down on his luck. Someone got covid. These things were to care for someone.
Stealing is wrong. But maybe this is the modern day bible verse of “steal a loaf of bread”. He has a scared & worried look of shame. I think a true petty criminal would do it without the shame & embarrassed look of nervousness.
No don’t feel bad. Your personal safety matters most.
But just prepared that as petty theft increases that you may find the price you pay will start to increase or shops start to close. Also your own conveniences may end up being inconveniences (e.g. visiting a walgreens in SF to buy toothpaste).
It's okay to feel bad, but you still did the right thing - I wouldn't confront anyone in that situation either. Who knows what that person is capable of
Even at the LCBO staff are told not to approach. Shoplifting is a pretty easy thing to do right now. Worst case is somone gets banned from the store, but even that is hard to enforce. Cops are busy. Staff isn't equipped or paid enough to intervine.
once i saw some guy steal a drink, at the grocery store i was working at.
Didn't do anything, it's only $3 and we're trained not to really even intervene in these circumstances.
OH man, I have watched people load up full back packs of booze at the LCBO, walk right out of a best buy alarms blaring with arms full of crap.
Not my circus.
I am a customer, not security or loss prevention. If companies want to reduce shrinkage it's on them to resource and staff accordingly.
Hot take incoming.
I can appreciate the sentiment of people here saying ‘no’ and I do agree, partly - it’s usually not worth the risk of your well-being, there are legitimately a lot of unwell people in this city that might get stabby.
But when does it become your problem? If that happened in your neighbourhood, then it has a negative impact on your life in an albeit small way, as now that anti-social behaviour went unpunished. A healthy body has a healthy immune system. Every time we do nothing, things get a little bit worse.
Last time I saw someone try to steal several beers from my local grocery store I called him out very loudly and kept talking to him about what he was doing at high volume to attract attention. He got nervous, dropped the cans and ran. Was I in a shitty mood at the time? You betcha. Would I do it again? Maybe. But like, we have to do something about all this madness or else it just gets worse. This is our home after all.
I worked in a store that would have the occasional shoplifter(independent shop serving medium/low income clientele).
As a patron you're not expected to do anything. If you want to say something to them like, "wtf man, put it back." that's fine, just if you want to escalate it don't escalate it with them, tell a member of staff. In my situation our greeter was also a security guy and he was great with faces and if the thief was caught they would get a warning if it was their first time, unless they got confrontational then it was a ban.
I wouldn't have intervened either. Like others have said, it isn't worth getting into a fight with a potentially crazy person over a can of pop. Unfortunately what is going to happen is that more and more places are just going to start locking up their merchandise. I could see a small place like this for instance moving the drinks fridge behind the counter and sticking a padlock on it so that only staff members can get into it.
As someone who worked in that industry I felt invaded every time I saw a shoplifter. I hated my job and I know my boss wasn’t docking my pay if I don’t stop the shoplifter, but the feeling was there nonetheless.
Anyway now that I’m out of that business, if you saw a shoplifter, no you didn’t.
Recently saw a woman who opened three containers of strawberries, put them in two and took them to the cashier like nothing happened at a grocery store. Another day, saw a man who was taking mangoes from other boxes and filling a box with as many mangoes as he could fit at Costco. Usually there're 9 mangoes in a box. He put at least 15 in the box. I guess it also counts as shoplifting. It's a tough time for everyone. It wasn't common to see this 4, 5 years ago.
it’s just a drink. cops aren’t rushing over to arrest the guy and it can be a risk to the shop/cashier to potentially fight this man over a 2 dollar drink
minding your business is usually the best way to be safe and avoid escalation
No but I would have offered to pay the $2 for it on his behalf. Times are tough. Mental health sucks. Small businesses are struggling too. The cashier probably wouldn’t have taken it but I would have felt good a lot myself
>Yes and then the prices that you and I pay are raised even more to make up for that shrinkage. Fuck thieves tbh
Bullshit, that's not how this works. Your prices are factored in after consideration for shrinkage.
A guy stealing a diet Dr pepper isn't the reason why they're charging 17 dollars for a burger combo or whatever.
It's really glib of you to think so.
If you're getting robbed enough to raise your prices, you need to either lock your fridge, or really just reconsider having a business to begin with.
You've never tried to run a business. I can tell. Never had to balance the books, never had to meet a budget, never known the fear of not making enough to pay the bills.
I will intervene from time to time, and 40 year old men will all of a sudden look like 16 year olds when caught. This might just work for me, though.
Should you stand up for what's right? Yeah, of course. But personal safety should be considered as well as ensuring you understand the consequences and situation you are in before acting.
I don't know if you should feel about not taking action. That's a risky situation, but your conscience is yours.
That said, don't give a second thought to people's hard times when it comes to this kind of thing. You don't steal a drink because of hard times. Water is pretty much everywhere in Canada. Heck, go use the restaurants bathroom and drink from the sink. There's your water.
People aren't out here stealing bread and beans. That wouldn't be 'right' either, but at least somewhat understandable if you see a starving person stealing bread and beans. People who steal or shoplift are criminals.
absolutrly not, you arent being paid at all, why risk confrontation
In fact, the people paid to be there are usually trained to not engage. It's worth getting shanked over a can of pop.
Exactly. The first thing they train you to do is monitor but don't engage. Contact authorities. There are people stealing shit they don't need. There are also people stealing stuff they need. Recently there was a post on the front page of reddit talking about how Walmart in some places was locking up socks behind glass and escorting people with the socks to the cashiers. We have Superstore putting multiple metal gates into the stores. We have a cost of living crisis. Socks and food should not have to be secured like this in a "thriving" society. Things are definitely not working however there are assholes both rich and poor that exploit the system and hurt it further for everyone. As others keep saying. Don't engage the bad apples in both wealth demographics simply don't give a shit and many times don't have boundaries most of us would have and you may end up hurt.
Your life isn’t worth risking to prove a point or to be right about something. Pick your battles appropriately 👍🏻
It's like when I'm driving in the left lane and going at a decent pace and all of a sudden I see a car approaching behind me. It's pretty obvious they are going extremely fast if they are catching up so quickly. I still move out of the way and let them pass. It's not my job to enforce the speed limit. There are people out there who will remain stubborn because they are following the speed limit and try to enforce it on others. Doing someone else's job usually just leads to more problems. Let the experts deal with it.
It is members of society that foster the culture we live in. When everyone decides to sit around and be a bystander to whatever nonsense is happening around them because “it’s not my business” or “I’m not being paid”, these kind of behaviours get normalized. Shame is a powerful tool to get people to fall in line. Please exercise nuance with this statement. I’m not suggesting tackling or getting into an elongated heated battle with thieves or other deranged fellows, but a simple sentence expressing disgust may do some good. I’m sick of this hyperindividualism that’s taken over our culture where people just don’t think about the common good or the social contract we should have with one another in our common spaces. When you throw all caution to the wind, anything goes. And look where that’s getting us.
Guilt is a powerful tool, shame isn’t. Not according to most studies on the subject. So someone has to be in a situation where they would feel guilty, stealing from a local store, or seeing who they are hurting. But if you are stealing from loblaws, I’m not sure there is anything you could say that would trigger guilt. “Hey this is a family run store” “you know that comes out of some employees pocket money”. I think of it like traffic. I can honk or yell if you almost hit a kid and you’ll feel guilt, but if you are speeding, should I chase after you explaining the slippery slope we are all on.
This is a post about a small restaurant, which I assume is family-run and not part of some big corporation. Like anything else, there is nuance. Shaming may work in some scenarios and doesn’t work in others. I know it certainly worked last week when I saw a man throwing garbage on the street from his lawn and yelled at him so make of that what you will. What I know for a fact is that normalizing antisocial behaviours is certainly not going to help anything on a societal level. If it’s between that or shaming, my bet would be that shaming will result in a marginally better outcome.
I also yell at littering, I hate it. I think it triggers guilt. I also pick it up infront of them though and ask them to throw it out with me. I’ve got a couple of young kids and we about shame, there is something wrong with me, and guilt, I did something g wrong. I think stealing is so nuanced compared to littering. Dumpster diving is considered stealing in many situations, (not this one obviously) so I think it comes down to a good radar for when the intervention is because you think they are open to hearing you, or if it’s for you. Not that doing things for you is bad. I’ll tell a litterbug they suck just for me.
But I don’t just think it’s about whether that individual will change their ways or not. It’s also about optics. People see what’s happening in our society and they’re realizing petty crime and other antisocial behaviours are just acceptable now because no one even bats and eye. I think that gives people a sort of permission to engage in the same behaviours themselves. Copycat crimes have always been a thing but even in general culture evolves. I don’t think this is the direction we want to see culture evolve. I want people to feel worried that if they engage in certain behaviours in public, someone might yell at them and embarrass them in front of a larger crowd. Even if they don’t feel guilt, I want the people watching to know there’s a threat of public humiliation. And yeah theft is still going to happen but we’ll be sending a message as society that we don’t condone it. I look at Asian cultures and the whole “what will people say” honour based mentality. Yes, it can sometimes be excessive and detrimental but there is also value to it when it comes to self-governance as people don’t want to bring shame upon their families. I wish we had some level of that. I also think there’s something to be said about the bystander effect in more serious situations. It happens a lot. I’ve seen someone get robbed at a bus stop and no one batted an eye, except me. I’ve seen women getting sexually harassed on the subway and not one person stand up for them, except me. I think that’s also a natural evolution of the culture of “it’s not my problem”. A lot of people just don’t feel comfortable stepping in ever. It’s a mentality issue.
I agree in general, I just also think it goes both ways. We should be publicly shaming gauging at the checkout and stranger danger propaganda that isolates out communities. We can yell, but can we always tell the victims from the abusers. For the most part I think it’s too easy to share my anger about something than it is to hit the streets with warm meals for the needy. I grew up religious so I think in those terms sometimes. Jesus yelled at the sellers in the temple at 13, told them they sucked and they were ruining society, then He grew up and stoped yelling and just started helping people. I try to do a bit of both. But I think you and I agree on the need for us all to see eachother and have the boldness to speak up more often.
I agree with you as well. Especially about the helping part. Too many people think they’re doing some kind of activism by just bitching online but they do absolutely nothing for their causes in real life. Like no, bitching to your 300 followers about cause XYZ repeatedly isn’t “educating them” and no, you’re not raising awareness about mental health by constantly posting sad memes. I bitch a fair amount too but I’m actively involved in my local community.
okay batman good luck
I don’t need luck, I have guts. But thanks! ☺️
OP, no one is going to give you a medal for stopping a theft. And even worse, you could end up hurt or worse if the thief is violent or is carrying a weapon. It’s not worth it. Or your business. The worker there also isn’t paid enough to deal with this.
If we all do nothing, we will end up like the US today. Check out what's happening in NYC.
Petty theft isn't worth getting involved with. If the employee witnessed it and did nothing, why should you? Same goes for situations like the guy stopping a shoplifter at the LCBO. Don't bother, considering there's a good likelihood they'll fight back and could be armed. At the end of the day, is it worth it? Nope! The terrible highway crash that happened last night was the result of an off duty cop chasing a guy stealing from the LCBO and police took chase and killed himself and 2 grandparents and a grandchild in the process. Some things aren't worth it.
Wow, I didn’t know that’s what started the chase. So fucking preventable.
You can be sure that it was not the first time that thief has gotten in trouble with the law - but has faced little consequences in the past.
You’re kind of misstating what happened with the 401 crash. The person being chased by the cops wasn’t a shoplifter; they pulled a knife and robbed the store.
That’s VERY different!!!
DRP are actually stupid as fuck and are notoriously incompetent
That’s crazy! Link pls?
I saw this posted earlier :( here the link to cp24: https://www.cp24.com/mobile/news/baby-and-grandparents-killed-in-wrong-way-hwy-401-crash-caused-by-fleeing-driver-siu-1.6867191
Not worth getting in to confrontations with people who you don’t know over a can of pop. Things can turn violent very quickly. Let the restaurant worry about it.
Staff are often told to not intervene, so you're certainly under no obligation.
Rightfully so. folks are waking up to the fact that we live in an honour system society, and taking advantage by stealing knowing there are no repercussions
I don't. There are lots of options to consider as to why someone might be stealing. If the employees don't care, neither should customers. On a different note, I was at Cloverdale Metro a while ago and witnessed an older man, 70 to 80 yrs old, sneaking chocolate covered almonds in the bulk section, eating some and putting some into his pants pocket. You never know why someone steals, but usually, it's poverty or addiction. I know chocolate covered almonds aren't poverty food, but if you're a senior on limited income, you might not be able to afford anything more than the very basics.
Normally I would not, because it's not my job and not worth the risk. However in current times *it's not even worth the thought*. Lifestyle gouging is abhorrent, and the homeless population has exploded.
The person who actually works there didn't do anything so why would you?
If you saw someone stealing food, no you didn't.
There are are many other crimes I would feel worse about not stopping, as in crimes I would actually feel bad about not stopping
No? You aren't being paid to protect restaurants, also like the other comment said. If it's a large corp then obviously not
Your life/cashier life isn't worth the 3 dollars for the drink.
Over a $1 can of pop?
Honestly, no, you should not feel bad for not doing anything. You don’t know the headspace of that other person and your personal safety is not worth a drink from the fridge. It sucks for a small business or restaurant, but safety comes first and in larger places like bigger stores, they have loss prevention for this specific reason.
No
When I worked retail we were told if you see someone stealing do not confront them, this is why there are security camera’s in-store and out, and they “will” be dealt with by security. Not employee.
I once saw a guy scamming the self check out during 2020 covid. The scary time of the pandemic. He scanned the stuff. Packed his bags and walked out quickly. I noticed something unusual about what he was stealing. It was gatorade, ensure meal replacement, oatmeal, a loaf of bread, a can of beans, chicken soup. I realize this guy is taking the cheapest most mundane things. It was also things people would eat when they are sick. I thought maybe this guy was down on his luck. Someone got covid. These things were to care for someone. Stealing is wrong. But maybe this is the modern day bible verse of “steal a loaf of bread”. He has a scared & worried look of shame. I think a true petty criminal would do it without the shame & embarrassed look of nervousness.
No don’t feel bad. Your personal safety matters most. But just prepared that as petty theft increases that you may find the price you pay will start to increase or shops start to close. Also your own conveniences may end up being inconveniences (e.g. visiting a walgreens in SF to buy toothpaste).
This is what I worry about too. Things will get so locked down that there’s no trust anymore.
It's okay to feel bad, but you still did the right thing - I wouldn't confront anyone in that situation either. Who knows what that person is capable of
No point in risking your life
Even at the LCBO staff are told not to approach. Shoplifting is a pretty easy thing to do right now. Worst case is somone gets banned from the store, but even that is hard to enforce. Cops are busy. Staff isn't equipped or paid enough to intervine.
No I wouldn’t feel bad nor intervene in this scenario.
OP isn't from California
It's not worth your health and safety to do anything about it with the person stealing. it sucks, but it's so dangerous now.
Most people don't.
once i saw some guy steal a drink, at the grocery store i was working at. Didn't do anything, it's only $3 and we're trained not to really even intervene in these circumstances.
Where's the famous LCBO hero when you need him? /s
No. Hell, no sane owner would engage in a dispute for someone stealing something as small as a drink.
[удалено]
[удалено]
This is the way.
OH man, I have watched people load up full back packs of booze at the LCBO, walk right out of a best buy alarms blaring with arms full of crap. Not my circus. I am a customer, not security or loss prevention. If companies want to reduce shrinkage it's on them to resource and staff accordingly.
Hot take incoming. I can appreciate the sentiment of people here saying ‘no’ and I do agree, partly - it’s usually not worth the risk of your well-being, there are legitimately a lot of unwell people in this city that might get stabby. But when does it become your problem? If that happened in your neighbourhood, then it has a negative impact on your life in an albeit small way, as now that anti-social behaviour went unpunished. A healthy body has a healthy immune system. Every time we do nothing, things get a little bit worse. Last time I saw someone try to steal several beers from my local grocery store I called him out very loudly and kept talking to him about what he was doing at high volume to attract attention. He got nervous, dropped the cans and ran. Was I in a shitty mood at the time? You betcha. Would I do it again? Maybe. But like, we have to do something about all this madness or else it just gets worse. This is our home after all.
I worked in a store that would have the occasional shoplifter(independent shop serving medium/low income clientele). As a patron you're not expected to do anything. If you want to say something to them like, "wtf man, put it back." that's fine, just if you want to escalate it don't escalate it with them, tell a member of staff. In my situation our greeter was also a security guy and he was great with faces and if the thief was caught they would get a warning if it was their first time, unless they got confrontational then it was a ban.
My instinct would be to intervene but I know better. Not worth dying over a soft drink. Too many crazies out there now.
That situation is not about me.
I wouldn't have intervened either. Like others have said, it isn't worth getting into a fight with a potentially crazy person over a can of pop. Unfortunately what is going to happen is that more and more places are just going to start locking up their merchandise. I could see a small place like this for instance moving the drinks fridge behind the counter and sticking a padlock on it so that only staff members can get into it.
As someone who worked in that industry I felt invaded every time I saw a shoplifter. I hated my job and I know my boss wasn’t docking my pay if I don’t stop the shoplifter, but the feeling was there nonetheless. Anyway now that I’m out of that business, if you saw a shoplifter, no you didn’t.
Recently saw a woman who opened three containers of strawberries, put them in two and took them to the cashier like nothing happened at a grocery store. Another day, saw a man who was taking mangoes from other boxes and filling a box with as many mangoes as he could fit at Costco. Usually there're 9 mangoes in a box. He put at least 15 in the box. I guess it also counts as shoplifting. It's a tough time for everyone. It wasn't common to see this 4, 5 years ago.
Totally wrong ... but correcting for shrinkflation ha ha.
Don't intervene- it's not worth it. Tell the cashier or the server so that they're aware and move on
MYOB
>We both then shared a look of mild exasperation. Welcome to the new Toronto ... nothing we can do.
No built into the overhead cost
it’s just a drink. cops aren’t rushing over to arrest the guy and it can be a risk to the shop/cashier to potentially fight this man over a 2 dollar drink minding your business is usually the best way to be safe and avoid escalation
$2 drink, turns into $10 meal, then $20 in booze, and then we end up with crashes on the 401.
No but I would have offered to pay the $2 for it on his behalf. Times are tough. Mental health sucks. Small businesses are struggling too. The cashier probably wouldn’t have taken it but I would have felt good a lot myself
Never thought about this. It’s a great idea. Thanks.
This is called shrinkage an allowance made for reduction in the earnings of a business due to wastage or theft.
Yes and then the prices that you and I pay are raised even more to make up for that shrinkage. Fuck thieves tbh
>Yes and then the prices that you and I pay are raised even more to make up for that shrinkage. Fuck thieves tbh Bullshit, that's not how this works. Your prices are factored in after consideration for shrinkage. A guy stealing a diet Dr pepper isn't the reason why they're charging 17 dollars for a burger combo or whatever. It's really glib of you to think so. If you're getting robbed enough to raise your prices, you need to either lock your fridge, or really just reconsider having a business to begin with.
You've never tried to run a business. I can tell. Never had to balance the books, never had to meet a budget, never known the fear of not making enough to pay the bills.
K
I will intervene from time to time, and 40 year old men will all of a sudden look like 16 year olds when caught. This might just work for me, though. Should you stand up for what's right? Yeah, of course. But personal safety should be considered as well as ensuring you understand the consequences and situation you are in before acting.
Totally! Some people think they're so slick.
Side note, the stealing from loblaws because it's loblaws trend is stupid.
Agreed. Though the stealing from Loblaws trend was literally just one poster put up in Toronto. It's never been part of the boycott.
from a large corp, no from a small independent family run business, yes
soda/coffee/water cost businesses nothing & the person didn't seem to be a threat to safety. if you can & want to you can cover the soda.
I don't know if you should feel about not taking action. That's a risky situation, but your conscience is yours. That said, don't give a second thought to people's hard times when it comes to this kind of thing. You don't steal a drink because of hard times. Water is pretty much everywhere in Canada. Heck, go use the restaurants bathroom and drink from the sink. There's your water. People aren't out here stealing bread and beans. That wouldn't be 'right' either, but at least somewhat understandable if you see a starving person stealing bread and beans. People who steal or shoplift are criminals.
Societal rules, who needs 'em? Eventually they'll all be "don't risk it!" and then eventually only the fools will be playing by the rools.